Lorne and Tonia Tice are partnering with local conservation organizations to restore the land behind their business, Barnside Creamery. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

OAK HARBOR – Local birders know that one of the most unique places to spot migratory birds in the spring is in the farmland behind Barnside Creamery in rural Oak Harbor. Many people have stood in the parking lot and enjoyed rare spottings of Ruff, Glossy Ibis or Marbled Godwit. Enjoying ice cream while they watch the birds makes the experience even better.

Binoculars and banana splits. Ice cream and ibises. Sundaes and summer tanagers. The list is endless.

Thanks to the generosity of Barnside Creamery owners Lorne and Tonia Tice and a partnership with Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR) and several other organizations, the farmland behind Barnside Creamery will be restored, opening the door for enhanced bird habitat. ONWR was awarded a grant to restore 85 acres of wetlands, 26 acres of native upland habitat and two acres of reforestation on the property.

The project began when Lorne learned about the H2Ohio program’s wetland restoration initiatives. The Tices had been struggling to farm the land, and H2Ohio offered a way to better utilize the property.

“We had been farming the land for years. It was a losing battle, and we wanted to do something different,” Tonia said. “My husband heard about H2Ohio, and we thought this could be something we could pass on to our kids and grandkids and future generations.”

Tonia’s primary goal was to create more habitat for birds on the land.

“When I sat down with them to talk about this the first time, my main concern was making it welcoming for birds,” she said. “There will be grasslands and wildflower areas and four or five dugouts.”

The land is already a hotspot for migratory birds. According to information from ONWR, nearly 180 species have been documented on the Barnside land, including rare birds like Red Knot, Whimbrel, Virginia Rail, Black-necked Stilt, Wilson’s Phalarope and Ross’s Goose.

Once the restoration project is complete, the potential for even more bird sightings will increase. In addition, the project will “improve water quality in the Western Basin of Lake Erie, improve soil and water health, support local ecotourism, and help reduce flooding risks by naturally holding stormwater,” according to ONWR.

A restoration project on the farmland behind Barnside Creamery, which is a hotspot for birding, will enhance bird habitat. (Submitted photo)

In addition to the Tices and ONWR, project partners include Friends of Ottawa NWR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ottawa Soil & Water Conservation District, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency and Ducks Unlimited.

The land will remain private property with no public access, but birders will be welcome to do what they’ve always done – watch the birds from the Barnside parking lot, which will be even bigger next year. The Tices want to ensure there is plenty of room for viewing, so they are adding six acres of parking lot space.

The restoration project will bring birding full circle at Barnside. Before they opened the ice cream business, the Tices knew nothing about birds. Now they know how to connect weather patterns with bird behavior and aren’t confused by names like Wilson’s Phalarope.

“When Kim Kaufman started the Biggest Week in American Birding, we had just opened. We had never heard of birding because we had always just farmed the land,” Tonia said. “As the Biggest Week grew, our business grew. Now, the Biggest Week is one of our biggest weeks.”

Birding and birders helped build Barnside, and now Barnside is giving back to the birds and the people who are passionate about them.

“We got involved in the Biggest Week, and we saw the enjoyment people got from birds, and it all kind of fell together,” Tonia said.